Of Sticky Notes and Rings
by Diary
Summary: While in Reid's office, Luke finds something interesting. Complete. Edited.


Disclaimer: I do not own As the World Turns.

* * *

"I'm not Dr Oliver," Luke says, patiently.

There's a vague shifting noise.

"Dr Oliver's in the cafeteria; they're having black onion soup," he continues, trying not to laugh or sigh.

A tentative head pokes out.

"It's alright," he continues. "Just come out. I need to get some stuff from his office."

The little boy, a nine-year-old cancer patient named Elliot Winchester, who's taken to rearranging Reid's pens, books, and colour-coordinated boxes of candy, fully appears. Reid once stole his brownie, and since then, child and neurosurgeon have been engaged in an epic battle. Reid's contribution is putting Elliot's toys on high shelves, having his favourite sheets replaced with regular hospital ones, and volunteering him to change the diaper of Allie's new baby.

Once Elliot has skipped off, Luke rearranges the pens and books, his arrival having interrupted any plans that were in store for the boxes of candy. He finds his car keys, accidentally knocking over a large sticky pad as he does so. Picking it up, he sets it back, eyes skimming over it as he does so.

_Don't tell him you love him. _

Curious, Luke carefully peels the sticky note up, careful not to tear it out.

_Noah Mayer's coming; don't ask him to move in. _

_Don't go to the wedding. _

_Don't go to his mother's party. _

_Don't yell. _

_Don't try to retrieve the picture. _

_Just walk away and don't listen. _

_Don't even think of revealing your attraction to that entitled, egoistical, co-dependent brat. _

_You probably should have accepted his invitation. _

_Don't cry. _

_Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. _

_Tell him about Invicta as soon as possible._

Ignoring the pain at the thought he made Reid feel like he might cry, never mind that he might have been responsible for Reid actually doing so, he takes assessment. Most of them are obviously about him, though he's not sure if the picture one is, too, or if, like the ones containing medical jargon and pizza orders, it's something related to one of the other two most important things in Reid's life. There's no particular order, suggesting Reid just randomly flipped through until he found an empty one he thought looked good at the time. Near the very end, he finds one more.

_Be a man, and fight Angus if you have to; you know you should have been wearing that ring a long time ago._

…

When they both get home, Luke says, "I need to talk to you about something."

"I'm not giving the tiny terror his-"

"It's not about Elliot, and yes, you are," Luke says, waiting until Reid sits down so that he can curl up against him. "Okay, I know, when people say: I wasn't snooping, it usually means they were snooping, but I didn't really think it was snooping when I did it."

"You're babbling," Reid says, amused, reaching up to rub the sensitive hairs on the back of Luke's neck where he recently got a haircut. Luke feels the ring against his neck. "And I don't have anything I care about you seeing."

Trying to control the shivers, Luke scrunches his neck, wishing he could just get lost in the sensation, feeling vaguely disappointed when Reid stops and rests his hand on Luke's shoulder instead. "I found a sticky pad, and most of it was about me." Resisting the urge to apologise for whatever he did to cause _don't cry_ and _don't yell_, he reaches up and brings Reid's hand down, fingers tracing the ring. "When you went to Boston, you said you were just going to get a chessboard. But the sticky pad made it clear you were also going for this ring."

Reid stills for a moment. "Most of those things on the sticky pad are things I was confused or conflicted about. You'll notice I ended up doing the opposite of most of what I told myself not to do."

Great, he probably did make Reid cry. Naturally, Reid wouldn't have let anyone know and be there for him, and Reid won't understand why he thinks it's important to try to do something, now. Reid's a bit insecure about Noah, but otherwise, he trusts Luke and never brings up all the hurt, confusion, and anger he went through when Luke was struggling with his own feelings. He still brings up the kidnapping and blackmail, but that's because they both joke about it.

"I did go for the chessboard," Reid continues. "I knew I wanted it, and I knew I was coming back with it. I wasn't sure about the ring."

"Okay," Luke answers, telling his suspicions to shove themselves. Occasionally, he's still insecure, too, but he decided a long time ago, unless he's ever given a good reason not to, he's going to trust Reid. "I'm glad," he offers. "It looks good on you."

It also makes Reid look married, but Reid doesn't care. It was his father's wedding ring, and like he did, Reid wears it on his left ring finger.

Chris once privately made it clear to Luke that he thought there was something deeper involved, but everyone has learned that it's only when Reid and Chris are being civil to one another or working together on something they refuse to discuss that others need to worry or otherwise get involved. Reid definitely isn't trying to portray himself as straight, and in truth, out of all of Reid's quirks, rituals, and disregard for societal expectations, this is one thing Luke doesn't have trouble understanding. Reid doesn't remember much about his parents, but it's only natural he'd want to do something that connects him them, such as wearing the ring in the same way as his dad did.

"Sorry," he adds, snuggling closer to Reid.

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"I kind of did," he admits. "I- I shouldn't have gone through the sticky pad once it became clear it was about your personal thoughts and feelings, and I shouldn't have questioned you about your trip and the ring."

"I'd rather you question me with an open-mind than assume the worst and accuse me," is the mild answer. "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

…

Angus makes a move on the chessboard. "Did your parents ever tell you how they got engaged?"

"Yeah," he answers, countering the move. "Dad refused to ask her until he'd bought rings for both of them. I never understood that."

"If she said yes, he wanted her to slide a ring on his finger, too."

"I know that," Reid answers. "It just doesn't make sense to me. He took her to their favourite pizzeria, waited until after they finished eating, and asked her. She put the ring on him, first, and then, he did hers. I'm assuming they weren't incapable of putting the rings on themselves."

"Love doesn't make sense; it's something we've always known."

True," he agrees, watching as Angus makes another move. "I remember, every morning, after breakfast, he'd kiss me, and then, he'd kiss her. She'd slide his ring off and put it on a chain around her neck. He'd kiss her again and leave. When he got back, she'd always slide it back on his finger. Then, they'd kiss," he says, shaking his head.

"You don't kiss that boyfriend of yours before you leave and when you get back?"

"It's not that," he says. "I remember things like that, but I don't remember them arguing or- I must have misbehaved; they must have yelled at me; I must have been angry with them. I know they entered me in tournaments, but I don't have a clear memory of that, either."

"You're lucky," Angus answers, as he captures a knight. "Your mom always told me, 'Keep the good, disregard the bad; life's too short.' She was a pathetic dreamer, same as your dad. But I guess people who can manage to do that should. She'd be happy you've done that when it comes to them."

"I never asked to."

"And those sociopaths who shoot up schools and those people you operate on with malignant tumours, they didn't, either."

"Checkmate," Reid says.

He catches the ring box.

"I always saw more of me than them in you," Angus says. "But when you walked out of that tournament, I saw your mother. Now, I see your father."

…

When he gets home, Reid finds Luke working on his laptop on the couch. "Why," he inquires as he sets down the chessboard and takes in the pillows and blankets, "do you always sleep on the couch when I'm not here at night? Most hotels don't have couches, leading me to wonder what you do on business trips."

"Hey," Luke says, setting the laptop aside and bouncing over. "How was everything?"

"I'm putting Nurse Stewart on bedpan duty," Reid says. "How many cups have you had?"

"I can have as much coffee as I want," Luke answers, stealing a kiss. "You seem okay. That's good. I was working on a new proposal." Bouncing over to the couch, he says, "Do you have time to look over it now, or do you need to get back to the hospital?"

"Yeah, I have time," Reid answers, withdrawing the ring box from his jeans. "But first, one of the things I also got from Angus was my dad's wedding ring. I haven't tried it on, yet. Come help me see if fits."

"Okay," Luke agrees, setting the laptop back down. "If it doesn't, do you want to get it resized?"

Nodding, Reid hands the box to him and holds out his left hand.

"You know that, usually, the left ring finger-"

"I know," he answers.

Opening the box, Luke withdraws the ring, examining it. "It's nice," he offers, smiling. Carefully, he slides the ring on, twisting it slightly when it reaches the bottom. "There. Perfect fit."

"I love you," Reid says, thickly, reaching over to kiss him and keeping a hand on his cheek once he breaks the kiss. "How about, instead of me going to the hospital, I stay here and we play doctor?"

Grinning, Luke plays with Reid's collar. "I love you, too. You know, Chris'll know that something's up if you don't come in soon."

"And? Unfortunately, everyone has a clear idea why he and Katie were late to that fundraising dinner last week."

Laughing, Luke starts pulling him to the bedroom. "Come on, then, Dr Oliver."

…

_"Da, why are you looking at wedding rings," he asked, wanting to go back to the chemistry sets he saw. "You're wearing yours, and Mumma's wearing hers."_

_His father kneeled down and brought his hand up, showing his ring to him. "Someday, you're going to get married, Reid, and this is going to be yours. I just want some idea of what will replace it for me and Mumma."_

_"Why would I want to get married?" _

_Laughing, his dad kissed him, causing him to squirm and stick his tongue out. "Someday, little one, you're going to fall in love with someone like I did with Mumma, and you're going to want everyone to know it. And also, when you're apart, this is going to remind you of them and make you feel close to them. I know, right now, you think this is just a ring, but someday, when a girl slides it on your finger, you're going to understand."_

_"If I have to get married, I'd rather marry a boy." _

_"Well, then," his father said, "let's hope he has plenty of nieces and nephews, then. Either way, one day, you'll fall in love, and once that person puts this on your finger, it's going to be everything you've ever wanted, I promise." _

_"I want to look at the chemistry sets," he answered, doubtfully._

_Nodding, his father picked him up. "Alright, little one, but let's find Mumma, first." _


End file.
